PepsiCo Looks To Bounce Back From Jenner Debacle With Retro Ads

PepsiCo Inc., which was slammed last year for an ad that tried to play off current events, is looking for safer ground by reviving its past.

The company debuted a campaign called “Pepsi Generations” that will tout the brand’s pop-culture influence over the past 120 years. The marketing blitz includes ads during next month’s Super Bowl and the half-time show, and the beverage giant is bringing back retro packaging and its ’90s-era Pepsi Stuff loyalty program.

Criticism

PepsiCo is rebounding from the criticism it drew last April for an ad that featured model Kendall Jenner in a street protest. The commercial, which was produced in-house, was rebuked by critics saying it was a tone-deaf exploitation of the Black Lives Matter movement. The company ended up pulling the ad: “Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize,” PepsiCo said at the time.

The latest campaign will be more lighthearted, offering a twist on a 1992 Super Bowl ad that starred Cindy Crawford. The Pepsi Stuff program, meanwhile, will let customers get vintage shirts, hats and jackets by redeeming points. The prizes were originally offered in 1996.

“2018 will be a year to celebrate the past while embracing the future,” Chad Stubbs, vice president or marketing for the Pepsi trademark in North America, said in a statement.

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